The Anti-Fan
by niky0n
Summary: AU. The clash between the tsundere idol and a band vocalist with anger issues. [Crack pairing: EngHun, Rated M for language. Human names are also used. Sorry if the characters get OOC. Hetalia doesn't belong to me. Some OCs are also included later in the story.]
1. Chapter 1

_I hate it. I absolutely hate it._

_Why won't they just shut up?_

_If they want to talk about nonsense, then, they should do so somewhere else._

_All I want is just a bit of peace and quiet, so that I could finish this damn book I just bought two weeks ago._

_Why, of all places, must they talk about it here?_

* * *

The room was filled with squeals and laughter from the female students, while there were low whispers and murmurs from the male students.

Elizaveta can't take it anymore. She felt as if she wanted to throw the book straight towards the blackboard to call her classmates' attention, and to tell them to shut the hell up. Or maybe flip this table right in front of them to let them know that she had had enough. Or maybe both. But right now, all that she can do is grasping the book firmly onto her hands, trying to focus on what she's been reading, even though her body began to tremble from too much anger. "No, no, Elizaveta. Calm yourself..", she mumbled to herself as she turned the page of the book, not realizing that a happy-go-lucky Italian was about to creep behind her..

"Eliza—"

"OH, DAMNIT, WHAT?!"

Elizaveta blinked many times before she realized that she threw her book straight at the face of the poor Italian. "F-Feli?! I'm so sorry, I didn't know!", she said repeatedly, as she crouched down to take a better look at Feliciano's face.

"O-Oww!", Feliciano reacted, as he placed his own hand over his cheek. With teary eyes, he looked at Elizaveta and spoke, "That hurts, Eliza.. Why do you have to hit me with that book, and it's even a hard bound one.."

Elizaveta quickly crept closer and touched the cheek where she had hit him. "Oh no, I'm so sorry, Feli..", then she took him in her arms and soothed the crying Italian, "Don't cry, Feli. I'm sorry, okay? If you wanted, I could treat you later for some pasta over at Carriedo's. Sounds fine?"

Feliciano immediately stopped crying and wiped his tears with his hands. He looked at Elizaveta, a grin on his face as he said, "Ve~ Pasta? Pasta sounds nice~"

Elizaveta heaved a sigh of relief. She didn't mean to hit Feliciano with her book, it's just that, almost all of her classmates had been so annoying these past few days that she can't even focus on the thing she's supposed to do. She didn't even get to realize that everyone was looking at her and Feliciano. The laughter in the classroom died, and one girl with short light blonde hair approached the two.

"M-Ms. Pres? Is something the matter?", the girl humbly asked. Well, apparently, Elizaveta, besides being the class topnotcher, is also the representative of their class section. Elizaveta looked at her, and in her thoughts, _"I should just fake a smile so they wouldn't notice..". _She then gave her a sweet, but fake smile, and said, "No worries, Katyusha. I.. Well, Feliciano and I are doing fine. You can go back to your own conversations now."

The girl looked hesitant to go. "U-Umm.. Ms. Pres, is it because the class is noisy, that's why you are in a foul mood today?", she asked.

This surprised Elizaveta. Has she been this obvious this whole time. "N-N-No.. It's not that. It's just that I'm thinking about what the class should do for the new transfer student when he arrives..", was the excuse she can only think of.

Katyusha smiled, and sighs of relief are heard in the entire classroom. "Oh, thank God. For a second there, I thought you were angry at us because we were so noisy and you wanted to be absorbed in the book you have been reading, but it's a good thing that you were planning in advance for the new transfer student~ You're really a responsible president, Elizaveta.", Katyusha said with a smile.

_"Is she being serious or just sarcastic?"_, Elizaveta thought. She nervously laughed as she answered, "W-Well, yeah.. Umm.. I guess so.."

"I've heard that the new transfer student is an idol, correct?"

Elizaveta, Katyusha, Feliciano, and some students of the class looked at the direction where the voice came from. They were a bit shocked to learn that the voice came from a person they didn't expect to even talk, because he was always so absorbed with his gadgets, laptop or sometimes his camera. Today, he was typing something on his laptop, speaking while still looking at the screen of his laptop. "He is an idol, correct?"

Elizaveta sighed. She didn't even know why she felt this way, it's not like she had met this new transfer student before, but she feels irritated by the mere mention of the word, "idol".

"Yes, he is an idol, as far as I have heard about him."

A twinkle began to form behind his stoic eyes. "An idol, huh? Interesting. It seems that I'd get more money if I take photos of him and sell it as a photo collection or something..", he muttered to himself as he got back to his work. Sometimes, they just couldn't understand him.

"OH MY! HE'S HERE! HE'S HERE!", someone shouted from the windows, as the girls began squealing, even Katyusha giving a small cheer. Elizaveta just gave herself a facepalm. "_Why do they want to even meet these damn idols anyway? It's not like they're a god that they should worship."_

"O-OMO! THE A-ALLIED POWERS ARE HERE! They're here!", one girl squealed, then everyone began rushing out of the classroom, leaving Elizaveta, Feliciano, Katyusha, and some other students who weren't really interested behind. Katyusha gave Elizaveta a sincere smile as Elizaveta looked at the window with an exasperated expression, and Feliciano kept on tugging on Elizaveta's arm and kept on telling her that they should go and take a look downstairs. An almost disgusted look was on Elizaveta's face as she asked, "What the hell is an "Allied Powers"?"

A burst of laughter came ringing in their ears after she had asked her question. "Mathias~", the Italian called out. The Dane walked towards them, trying to suppress his laughter out of fear that Elizaveta might hurt him. "What's funny, Mathias?", Elizaveta asked, her eyes turning into a death glare. Mathias luckily didn't notice though, since he was looking down from the windows, noticing that the front gate of the school is already surrounded by students. "I just find it funny that you don't even know who the Allied Powers are. They're the most famous idol band here.. they say."

Elizaveta looked at him, confused. "Idol band? Allied Powers? Are they into metal or something?", she asked, because if they did, then she would have liked them.

Mathias looked at her, surprised at the naivety of the brunette in front of him. He didn't even find it funny anymore. "You really don't know them, Eliza? I'm surprised that you're even a teenage girl—", then he took a second glance, "—apparently, you're not." Then he started laughing again.

BAM!

"E-Eliza.. You didn't have to go that far..", Mathias whimpered as he tried to soothe the pain on his head. Elizaveta just hit him on the head with a frying pan.

Katyusha smiled, then spoke, "They're not into metal, I think. More of a pop rock or glam rock sound, if you would ask me."

Elizaveta looked back at her, still holding Mathias by the collar. A fiery glare were in her eyes as she spoke, "What?! Pop rock?!" Then instantly let her grip on Mathias' collar go, making him fall down with a loud thud. "H-Hey!", Mathias cried out, but Elizaveta gave him a palm on the face to shut him up. "Pop rock, you say?", she asked again to herself. Apparently, she hated both pop and glam rock.

"Ooh~ They're already out of their vans, Eliza~", Feliciano sang as he looked out from the window. Elizaveta looked at where Katyusha, Feliciano, (and the now awake and a bit okay) Mathias were looking at, and five handsome boys were surrounded by security guards as the students crowded to get closer to them. "They're idols? Psh.", Elizaveta asked to no one in particular, when she began to notice someone from the idol band was looking at her. No, was staring at her.

"Eliza~ He's looking at you~", the cheerful Italian sang, but she didn't react since her eyes were transfixed at the emerald eyes looking at her own.

_Why is he looking at me like that? Who.. who is he?_

The quiver from his thick eyebrows woke her up from his binding trance.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey, whatcha lookin' at, Arthur?"

Arthur turned around, his emerald eyes focusing on the American who was about to approach him. The screaming of fans around them were so loud, that Arthur can't almost hear his question.

"What did you just say, Alfred?!", he asked.

Alfred put a hand on Arthur's shoulder, and got close to his ear. "I said, what were you lookin' at, Arthur?!"

Arthur glared at him, as he screamed back. "You twat! You don't need to shout in my ear, you—"

The bodyguards struggled to push the fans away from them as they argued. A sigh can be heard from the Chinese man who was looking at them, clearly, he was irritated by the fact that even his two bandmates would go as far as fight in public. "Hey, Ivan, aru.", he called out to the Russian who was already standing near the school gates. "Can you call off those two morons aru, and drag them inside the school, aru?"

Ivan looked at him innocently and nodded, "Okay, Yao."

When he approached the two men fighting, a dark aura surrounded him as he smiled again, innocently. "Fighting again, da?", then he grabbed both Alfred and Arthur by the collars of their shirts and started dragging them inside the school campus. The two still bickered and shouted profanities at each other, while Yao tried to relax by massaging the temples of his head. Meanwhile, one of their bandmates, Francis, kept on blowing kisses towards the crowd as they walked. Finally, they arrived at the entrance of the main building of the school.

* * *

"Th.. That's Allied Powers?", Elizaveta asked, still staring down from the windows even though the idol band wasn't there anymore. Mathias looked at her, smug, then asked, "Well, are you a fan of them now, Elizaveta? It's normal, I mean—"

Elizaveta burst into laughter. She didn't know whether to laugh because the band didn't even look cool to her, or that some people are just stupid enough to even like those guys. "Hahaha! Mathias, that's what you call an idol band?! Hahaha! Even Feliciano's favorite bands are cooler than them!", and she continued laughing.

Mathias looked at her, flustered. It was the first time he even saw a girl classmate, no, a girl schoolmate that doesn't like or even know the Allied Powers. _Well, she's not a girl by the way she thinks and acts, anyway._, he thought, and instead of getting angry, he scratched the back of his head while wearing a sheepish smile as he spoke, "Oh.. Hahaha.. Yeah.. I guess those fangirls are stupid, huh? Even our crew is cooler than them."

"Damn right!", she answered as she sat back on her chair. "When it comes to coolness, nobody beats the Nordics. Besides..", propping her elbows on her table, while her chin rested on both of her hands, "..they look gay to me." Then chuckled again to herself, realizing that free period is already over.

* * *

"Ugh. Why me?"

Elizaveta walked along the corridors, a German with a strict expression on his face walked in front of her.

"Well, you are the representative of your class, Ms. Hedervary.", he said, without even looking back at her. She looked at him from behind, her eyebrows meeting as she spoke. "You don't need to be formal with me, Ludwig. I mean, we're childhood friends and all—"

The two finally arrived in front of the Principal's office. Ludwig was about to open the door, but Elizaveta still looked hesitant to go. He sighed, then gave her a bit of a smile. "You should go inside, or you might get in trouble, okay—", he looked at her then put a hand on her back to push her frontwards, "—Eliza?"

Elizaveta was about to look back at Ludwig, when he suddenly closed the doors. The principal sat on his chair, looking at Elizaveta with his hazel brown eyes as he started to speak, "Well, hello, Ms. Hedervary. I'd like you to meet someone today."

Elizaveta hesitated to turn around. She knew that the guy she saw earlier was sitting there on the chair across the table of the principal's. She can feel his emerald eyes looking at her, and she wanted to get out of that room as soon as possible.

"Ms. Hedervary, is something the matter?", the principal asked, his voice in a worried tone. He looked at Elizaveta, then to the Brit in front of him.

_Should I just turn around and act as if I'm fine? Should I—_

She felt a warm hand on her shoulder. She was about to turn around, thinking that it was the principal, when she suddenly realized that it was the guy from earlier.

"You alright, dear?"

Elizaveta instantly jerked away from him. Looking confused and a bit irritated, she asked, "W-W-Who are you calling 'dear'?! I don't even know you!"

The Brit also had the same confused expression on his face. _Clearly, this girl doesn't know anything about British culture, _he thought. He decided to shrug that one off, and thought that it would be fun to tease her a bit so he asked, "You haven't heard of my name before—", he smirked before he continued, "—darling?"

Elizaveta looked as if she wanted to vomit. She didn't really like people calling her nicknames, let alone terms of endearment. She can stand it if a girl was calling her that, but this is a guy, a complete stranger!

"G-God, would you just stop calling me that?", she asked, her voice a bit cringing. The Brit found this girl interesting, well, whenever he calls a girl "honey", "darling" or even "love", they swoon and even asks him to repeat it. The words meant nothing to him, and he didn't actually mean those words in a special way, maybe those girls just misunderstood him. But now, right in front of him, a girl that seems to be even disgusted at him! _It's the first time I've ever met a girl like this.._, he thought, as he went back to his chair, sat on it, and looked back again at the Hungarian right in front of him.

"I think it would be better if you would take a seat—", he smirked again, "—my lady?"

Elizaveta stomped towards the chair across his, and sat on it, avoiding eye-to-eye contact with the man in front of her. _Why does he look at me like that?_, she asked herself, as the principal coughed to ease the awkwardness surrounding them and started to talk.

"The reason why you are here, Ms. Hedervary, is that Mr. Arthur Kirkland—", he looked at the Brit across the table, "—will be the new student who will be transferring to your class." He looked at Elizaveta, her mouth a bit agape out of sheer surprise, _Please, don't this to me, , please.. Choose another student.._

"From today onwards, you would be his guide until further notice. Do you understand, Ms. Hedervary?"

She had expected it, really. She knew that she couldn't protest any further, so she stood up, and began to walk towards the exit.

"Ms. Hedervary—"

She looked back, wearing the sweet, but fake smile on her face..

"It's okay, sir. Really, it's fine.", then looked at Arthur who was a bit surprised by her sudden actions. "Mr. Kirkland? Let's go?"

She got out of the room, wearing a poker face, as the Brit followed her, dumbstruck.


	3. Chapter 3

Silence filled the air as the two walked along the corridors of Hetalia Academy.

_I can't seem to understand this girl.._

Elizaveta was a couple of meters ahead of him, and he kept on looking at her from behind.

_She seems pretty, beautiful even. Her eyes are of the same shade and color as mine, and her hair fell so graciously down her shoulders.._

Arthur shook his head. His face started to heat up when he realized what he was just thinking earlier.

_What am I thinking?! Beautiful as this girl may seem, she does act a little bit improper for a lady. She doesn't seem to know me as well, or maybe she's just pretending? I feel as if she hates me for a reason.._

Elizaveta quickened her pace.

_Ugh. Why of all people did Mr. Vargas chose me to be some sort of caretaker for this thick browed bastard? (Cue: Internal scream) I know that I'm the class rep, but there are nicer guys that can take care of him, or another section that can take him.. And where is his companions? Don't tell me they're going to study here too? Ugh.._

She finally arrived in front of the doors of the classroom, and she looked behind her to see Arthur walking (or limping, I suppose) while gasping for his breath. Apparently, she had been walking way too fast, that Arthur tried to catch up with her pace but ended up tired and out of breath.

"Y..You.. git.. Making me chase after you..", he finally got a bit closer by a few metres then stopped there to catch his own breath. "Do.. you even know who you're messing with—" Then, thinking that calling her with a term of endearment would piss her off again, he tried to continue, "—sweetheart?"

Elizaveta found it amusing. Well, yes, she felt a bit apologetic that she quickened up her pace (even though it was on purpose), but she admits that it's a bit funny to see Arthur like that, and even though he's short of breath, he still didn't want to admit defeat by even calling her again with another term of endearment, thinking that it will piss her off..

"That's so five minutes ago, Mr. Kirkland. Better think of another way to piss me off.", she said, nonchalantly. Arthur's eyebrows met as he looked back at her. _Oh, is she really playing the "hard to get" game now.._

She chuckled a bit to tease him before she spoke, "And after insulting me and calling me a "git", then you suddenly call me "sweetheart"? That just sounds so awkward and forced.", then opened the door of the classroom for him. "After you, Mr. Kirkland?"

Arthur grunted as he walked past her. _This cheeky little cunt.. I swear that someday she will pay, with that damn attitude of hers! I'll make her bow down to me. (Cue: Internal evil chuckle) Let's just see, Ms. Hedervary._

When they entered the classroom, the whole class was in high spirits. They welcomed Arthur with cheer and even the teacher was clapping along with the other students.

_(Cue: Mental facepalm) Ugh. I bet his fangirls set this all up.._

Arthur looked happy. He felt superior over the students here, he was loved, and he was exalted. He searched for Elizaveta, just to see what her reaction would be like. Elizaveta walked towards her seat, a bit glad that she finally got away from Arthur, thinking that the "fangirls" would keep him busy long enough so she wouldn't have to bother looking after him. _He's not some sort of kid I should look after, anyway. _Then got her new book, and started to read.

Seeing Elizaveta walking away from him nonchalantly left a feeling of irritation and..

_..why do I feel sad that she doesn't even care about me being swarmed by mad women here? (Cue: Mentally shakes his head) It's not as if I care that she doesn't care about me._

Even though the girls in the class were surrounding him, squealing and trying to get his autograph, he struggled to get away from them, and even tried to call Elizaveta. "Hey, woman! Why are you sitting there and not even trying to help me here?"

_Do I hear something? Hmm. No, I must have been hearing things.._

Arthur looked at Elizaveta, clearly she wasn't listening to him at all. When he finally got away from the fans trying to get closer to him, he quickly walked towards where Elizaveta is, and slammed his hand across the desk in front of her. Some students gasped at this.

"You git. Why are you here, I thought you were supposed to take care of me?", he asked through gritted teeth.

She continued to read, an indifferent expression on her face as she spoke. "Err! Wrong. Mr. Vargas asked me to be your 'guide' not a bodyguard."

Her indifferent attitude pissed Arthur off. _You think you can just get away from me that easily, hmm?_

"Sir!"

Arthur raised his hand. Everyone looked at him, as a determined look shimmered in his eyes as he spoke. "I want to sit next to Ms. Hedervary, if that would be alright with you, sir?"

There were low murmurs from all over the room. Elizaveta looked at Arthur, clearly annoyed by his sheer persistence to get closer to her. _He knows that it'll piss me off. He knows._

The teacher scratched his head as he tried to answer. "Well, I guess you can sit there, seeing that Mr. Beilshcmidt is not around again, and maybe I can move him to another seat.."

Elizaveta stood up, surprised by the sudden decision of the teacher. "B-But, you can't sir! I don't want to sit right next to him! I'd rather have Gilbert sit right next to me.. Besides, I can get him to go to class, sir, if you give me some time.."

_Who's this Gilbert? And how dare she say that she'd rather sit next to another guy than me?_

Arthur looked at Elizaveta, and smirked before he spoke. "Well, he's not here so—", he took the seat right next to Elizaveta and sat as if nothing happened, "—temporarily, I'll get to sit on his seat, is that fair enough?"

The teacher and some of her classmates looked at her with an expectant expression on their faces, as Arthur propped his right elbow on the desk in front of him, looking at Elizaveta with the same expectant expression. "So, do we have a deal—", he smirked before he continued, as he knew that this would now piss her off more. "—darling?"

Elizaveta chuckled darkly to herself as if she had already lost it.

_This Britboy is challenging me, huh? You asked for this, and if it's a fight you want, then it's a fight you'll get._

She smirked at Arthur, making Arthur feel a bit uncomfortable.

_You'll regret it, Mr. Kirkland. You'll definitely regret challenging me._


	4. Chapter 4

_Tsk._

The school bell rang, signaling the end of classes for the day. Arthur began to put his things inside his bag before he was about to stand up from his seat.

_Damnit.. I don't understand why would that wanker of a CEO would choose this type of school, I mean, he could have chose a better school with students of higher status.._

He looked at his left and noticed that Elizaveta had already gone home.

_Oh, bloody—_

He immediately stood up and grabbed his bag, as he ran towards the corridors in order to search for Elizaveta.

_If I don't find her right away, I would—_

He looked out of the window. Elizaveta was already walking towards the campus gates, with Mathias and Feliciano.

* * *

"Ve~ Eliza~ Someone is stalking us~"

Classes finally ended as Feliciano, Elizaveta, and Mathias were about to go home. When they were about a few metres away from the school gates, Feliciano noticed that a man with blonde hair and thick eyebrows were following them from a distance.

"Hey, Eliza.. He's one of the members of the Allied Powers, right? Why is he following us? He's creepy.", Mathias commented, as he tried to look at where Feliciano was looking at. The Italian didn't like the presence of the so-called "stalker" that he instantly clung onto Elizaveta's arm, muttering, "Creepy stalker, Eliza~ Ve~ Creepy stalker~"

Elizaveta sighed. "Don't mind him. Just pretend as if he's not there."

"Ve~ Okay, Eliza~"

Meanwhile, Arthur..

_That woman.. It's obvious that I'm here right behind them, and she acts as if she doesn't notice me! (sees Feliciano cling onto Elizaveta) W-W-Whoa—W-Wait, w-who's that guy? (shakes head) W-W-Well.. It's not as if I wanted to know.._

* * *

"Ve~ Mathias, Eliza, he's still following us~"

Mathias looked behind them, and yes, Arthur was still there, making him and Elizaveta sigh. Mathias looked at Elizaveta, a worried expression on his face. "You sure you can go home with "that" following you? I mean, you can stay over Feliciano's or if you want to stay at our place for awhile.."

Elizaveta smiled at him. "Don't worry, you know that I can protect myself, right?"

Mathias scratched his head, and chuckled sheepishly. "I guess you're right, I mean, you have your frying pan with you.. You're quite invincible today."

Mathias' phone suddenly rang. "_Hej?_"

"You're with Eliza and Feliciano, right? Tell Eliza we have band practice."

It was Lukas.

"Aww, but.."

Elizaveta looked at Mathias with knowing eyes. "Band practice?"

Mathias nodded. They have been practicing for the upcoming band auditions for almost three weeks, and they rarely had enough time to rest. Elizaveta sighed again for the nth time. "Okay, let's go."

"Ve~ But what about Mr. Stalker, Eliza~?"

Elizaveta looked behind her. "I don't know what he needs from me, but I've got a good idea.."

The Hungarian then looks at the motorbike parked nearby.

Mathias smirked.

"So, it all depends on me, huh?"

* * *

Arthur continued to follow them, but was surprised when he saw the tall guy with blonde hair who was with Elizaveta grab the motorbike nearby, and looked as if he activated the motor without even using a key. "H-Hey, Ms. Hedervary, wait—"

The motorbike's engine roared, as Elizaveta and Feliciano leaped onto the motorcycle. Mathias tightened his grip on the motorcycle's throttle, and twisted it to set the engine to full gear. The motorbike quickly zoomed away, leaving Arthur dumbstruck as he stood there, his knees feeling wobbly all of a sudden.

_"M-Ms. Hedervary.. N-Now I don't have a place to go to.."_

He looked around him as snow began to fall down from the sky.


	5. Chapter 5

"You're 15 minutes late."

The Swiss glared at them while holding his Fender Stratocaster electric guitar in his hands. Elizaveta smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, Vash.. No one informed us that we have band practice today.."

Vash turned his attention to the Norwegian standing near the amplifiers. He was holding an ESP LTD B55 bass guitar, and was tuning it before he noticed the stares from his other bandmates. "What?", he asked nonchalantly, as he continued to tune his bass guitar. "Do I have to inform everyone about band practice, since it is obvious that the auditions for the indie label 'Goesoo Indigene' are only a few weeks away?"

Elizaveta and Mathias felt guilty. Feliciano wasn't there, since he was in the kitchen, asking Tino if they were going to have pasta for dinner. The atmosphere remained awkward until Elizaveta suddenly spoke.

"Of course, we're serious about it. We're all serious about it. It's just that we have other responsibilities we needed to attend to, like school and family matters. But, it doesn't mean that we don't care for this band. It's been years since we started this, and I think that it's time we get the recognition we deserve for all our efforts."

Vash, Lukas and Mathias looked at her, their eyes filled with sincerity and understanding. "Okay, let's just stop with this sappy crap and start practicing!", Mathias gleefully exclaimed, as he sat on the seat behind the drumset. Elizaveta grabbed the microphone and smiled at everyone, before the band officially started their practice.

* * *

Arthur walked aimlessly, looking around for familiar faces while the cold, winter snow fell from the sky. _It's so cold today, and it's freaking snowing even though it's just the second week of November.._

A familiar sound came into his ears. It was coming from a house nearby, and it sounds as if a band was playing it.

_I know that I have heard this song before.. It's from a band in my home country.._

He walked towards the source of the music and sat on the ground, leaning his back on the fence. There were no windows since it was a garage, but he can still clearly hear the melancholic sound of the guitars and piano, the sweet voice of the singer and the anthemic beat of the drums. He found himself dozing off, curling himself up into a ball in a failed attempt to warm himself up.

_Coldplay.. It's Coldplay's.. "In My Place".._

And the Brit slowly fell asleep, while the snow continuously fell on the cold, damp ground.

* * *

Elizaveta sighed happily. The band practice went well, and the others were already done cleaning up the room and putting the stuff back into its place. Vash left in a hurry to catch up with family dinner, while she, Mathias and Lukas went to the dining room and saw a huge bowl of pasta and other kinds of food placed on the dinner table. Feliciano had a huge grin on his face, while Tino smiled sheepishly as he sat on one of the chairs. "Feli wanted to have pasta for dinner.. again."

"I can see that..", Mathias commented as he looked at the huge bowl of pasta. Lukas looked at Feliciano, his eyes a bit cold and menacing. "Pasta. Again."

Mathias smiled sympathetically as he patted the Norwegian's back. "Ah~ You don't have to glare at Feli like that.. At least we are having another gourmet dinner tonight.", he said, but deep inside his mind, he was also getting sick of eating pasta for almost three weeks straight. Feli smiled at the Dane's compliment, and grabbed a plate to give to him. "Ve~ Mathias~ You deserve to have the first plate~"

Mathias felt his stomach lurch. "Uh-Uhm.. N-No thanks, Feli.. I just had some smoked _laks* _before we had band practice, so I might—"

Mathias felt as if someone slapped his back. He looked around to see Elizaveta standing right behind him, glaring. "Eat it.", she threatened, as she suddenly glomped him, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. He tried to take Elizaveta's arms off of him, but he soon gave up as felt his lungs were about to run out of air. "O-Okay, I'll eat it, I'll eat it!", he cried out, and Elizaveta quickly let him go as soon as he had said it.

"Oh, Feli. Can you just pack my share for me?", Elizaveta asked, while she slid her arms in the sleeves of her winter coat. Feliciano frowned. "Ve~ You won't eat with us, Eliza?"

Mathias looked up at Elizaveta, and the others did so too. "You sure you don't want to eat first before going home?", Mathias asked, before he put a forkful of pasta in his mouth. Elizaveta shook her head, and gave them a sweet smile before she was about to go. "_Baba*_ and my brothers are probably waiting for me."

Feliciano gave her a kiss on the cheek before he gave the plastic container full of pasta. "Ve~ Take care, Eliza~ Please greet Heracles and Gupta for me~ _Ciao*~", _he said as he flailed his arms in front of her. Elizaveta chuckled and put her hand on the Italian's head. "_Rendben van.*"_

She went outside and as she walked in the cold snow, she almost tripped on a huge pile of snow that was blocking the sidewalk. She almost cursed when all of a sudden, she realized that a person was in that huge pile of snow. "M-M-Mr. K-Kirkland?! What are you doing here?!"

She rushed to his side, the Brit still unconscious. She grabbed his pale hands and it felt ice cold. "M-Mr. Kirkland! Hey, wake up!"

Panic and fear crept onto her as she tried to wake the Brit from his sleep.

* * *

**_Notes:_**

_*laks – Danish word for salmon_

_*Baba – Turkish word for father_

_*Ciao – Italian word for goodbye_

_*Rendben van – Hungarian phrase for OK_


	6. Chapter 6

Poke.

Poke. Poke.

Poke. Poke. Poke. Poke. Poke. Poke. Po—

"ACK!"

Arthur jolted up on what appears to be a couch, and as he looked around, he sees a child with short dark hair and forest green eyes staring at him. Apparently, the child was the one who kept on poking at his face this whole time.

"W-Where am I? And who are you?", he asked the child, but the child didn't answer. He just kept staring at Arthur with curious but indifferent eyes, and the sound of someone twisting a doorknob could be heard as the door opened. It was Elizaveta.

"M-Ms. Hedervary?"

A feeling of relief washed over him as he saw the brunette in front of him. _At least I didn't end up in a stranger's house., _he thought.

Arthur sat up, covering his body with the warm blanket as Elizaveta placed the tea set on the end table. "Umm. So.. I am curious as to how you found me..", Arthur muttered to himself, but still audible for Elizaveta to hear.

Elizaveta looked at him, an indifferent expression on her face. "It's because you were lying on the streets like a dead dog that I almost tripped." A suspicious look loomed over her eyes as she looked at Arthur. "And how come you knew where we were? Out of all houses, you even chose to fall unconscious in front of Mathias' house."

A flustered Arthur tried to explain his situation. "W-Well, I didn't really know that you were there or it was your friend's house or what.. I was just lured in by the music since I recognize the song. A song by Coldplay, right?"

Elizaveta looked away, pouring the two tea cups beside her with Earl Gray tea. "Coldplay's 'In My Place', am I right?", Arthur asked, still feeling uncomfortable by Elizaveta's silent treatment. Elizaveta gave the tea cup to Arthur, and the Brit accepted it with a sheepish smile on his face.

"If you're mad about how I stalked you earlier, then I'm sorry, honey but—"

Arthur covered his mouth with his hands. The term of endearment* just slipped right out without him thinking, and Elizaveta froze on the spot while she was about to drink her cup of tea. He didn't mean it, since he usually called other people the same way. But he felt as if pissing Elizaveta off at this moment would be a wrong idea.

Arthur felt someone tugging the cuff of his right sleeve.

"You.. You're _abla's* _boyfriend?", Arthur heard the child ask him.

The question shocked Arthur. "W-W-What?! N-No! I'm not her boyfriend!", he exclaimed as his cheeks started to blush to a deep shade of red. The child looked at him with wide, curious eyes as he asked again, "Then why did you call her 'honey'?"

Arthur looked at the child in disbelief. "It's not what you think, it's just that I'm British and as a Brit, we do refer to people that way. We're not in that sort of relationship—"

The child suddenly muttered, "—unfortunately?"

Someone crashed the door down all of sudden, which woke Elizaveta from her trance. "Elizaveta's boyfriend, you say?!", the man with a white mask voiced out as he looked up to see Elizaveta sighing, a shocked Arthur, and his indifferent son staring at him. He looked at Arthur, his eyes full of suspicion as he exclaimed, "My dear _kız _brought home her boyfriend?!"

Elizaveta sighed as she stood up. "_Baba. _He's not my boyfriend."

The Turkish man looked at her daughter with relief, when the child suddenly spoke.

"Mr. Eyebrows called _abla _'honey'."

Arthur glared at the kid. _You're not helping here.. and who did you just call Mr. Eyebrows?!_

The mask dropped all of a sudden, revealing the Turkish man's teary, crystal brown eyes. He didn't even bother to pick the mask up, he just stood there, looking at both Elizaveta and Arthur with eyes brimming with tears.

The man then lunged towards his daughter, exclaiming, "You don't have to hide it, Eliza—" But he was stopped immediately when Elizaveta hit his face with a frying pan.

Despite the throbbing feeling on his face, he looked up, still smiling as the tears began to fall from his eyes. "My daughter.. My daughter's all grown up now..", he muttered to himself, and Elizaveta sighed as she tried to explain. "_Baba, _he's not my boyfriend. Geez, when will you realize that not every man that comes here are my boyfriends?"

Her father sat back up as he wiped the tears from his eyes. "B-But.. Roderich used to visit us all the time—"

"_BABA!"_

The Turkish man looked up at his daughter, as he realized that he wasn't supposed to mention "his" name. Elizaveta trembled in anger as her hands clenched into knuckles until it turned white, and she bit her lower lip as she tried to stop herself from screaming in front of her father. Arthur looked at them with a confused expression on his face. "Are you okay—?", and as he was about to put a hand over Elizaveta's shoulder, she muttered through gritted teeth.

"Don't touch me."

She stormed out of the room, leaving her father and Arthur in a confused state. The child just looked at them with indifferent eyes as he spoke. "_Baba, _you weren't supposed to mention _abi_'s*name in front of _abla."_

The Turk sighed. "_Evet, evet*, _I know. It's just that Elizaveta seemed so happy these days that I thought that she had already forgotten all about Roderich—"

"Umm. Who is this 'Roderich' you speak of?", Arthur suddenly asked, his curiosity getting the better of him. He was wondering why would Elizaveta just storm out like that, just by a mere mention of a name. The Turk looked at him with sincere eyes as the memories flashed in his mind..

"..that man, Roderich. That bastard broke my daughter's heart."

* * *

**_Notes:_**

_*abla - Turkish word for "older sister"_

_*kiz - Turkish word for "daughter"_

_*baba - Turkish word for "father"_

_*abi - Turkish word for "older brother"_

_*evet, evet - Turkish phrase for "Yes, yes."_


	7. Chapter 7

_Knock, knock._

Arthur stood outside of Elizaveta's room, knocking on the door to check if she's okay.

_Knock, knock._

Still no answer.

"Ms. Hedervary?", he called out to her. Still, there was silence. He turned the doorknob to see that the door wasn't even locked.

"Ms. Hedervary?", he called out again, softly, as he tried to sneak a peek on the brunette. Elizaveta sat there on her bed, the lights are out as she buried her face in a pillow as she hugged it. He slowly approached her, a bit of light streaming from the half-open doorway as he sat on the floor near the bed, his back facing her.

He tried to break the silence. "Are you alright, Ms. Hedervary?"

He turned his head to look at her, and sees the brunette tremble as she tried to hide her sobs from the Brit. Arthur sighed, his heart overwhelmed with pity. And then he stood up, eyebrows meeting as he sat there next to her.

"I.. I heard a bit about your problem from your Dad, Ms. Hedervary.. He didn't told me the rest of the story, and said that if I wanted to know, I should ask you."

Silence. Arthur looked at her, and smiled sincerely as he asked,

"Do you want to share your problems with me?"

Silence. Hesitation crept up on Elizaveta as she tried to decide if she would tell Arthur about it or not.

_We're not even close friends._

"Why.. Why would you want me to tell it to you? You.. You don't even know him.", she murmured to herself.

Arthur tried to think of an answer. "Uh.. Well..", he scratched his head as he stared up on the dark ceiling. "I'm just wondering that how come a strong woman like you, would be affected by something, by just a mere name—"

Elizaveta looked at him suddenly, her face streaming with tears as her face contorted into an angry expression.

"A mere name? You're telling me that I am affected by just a mere name? Mr. Kirkland, it's not only his name that affects me, everything about him, everything that reminds me of him..", she tried to hide her face again with her hands as she continued, "..just a brief mention of his name.. And all the memories just keep on coming back.."

Arthur looked at her again, pity in his eyes. "I.. I see..", he managed to utter, as an indescribable feeling crept within him. Anger? Sadness? Jealousy? He wasn't quite sure what it was.

"Ms. Hedervary?", he called out to her again. She sat there, trying to wipe her tears away as she asked him, "What?"

"I know that it seems insensitive of me to ask this again, but, don't you really want to share that problem with me? To ease that burden on your heart even for just a tad?"

He waited for her reply, as the awkward silence surrounded the room. When Arthur thought that maybe Elizaveta wouldn't answer again, the brunette beside him spoke in a low but audible voice. "O.. Okay."

He looked at her with interest, waiting to hear her story.

"Everything started.. on that day my real parents died in a car crash."


	8. Chapter 8

"We met in the hospital where _Baba _works. Coincidentally, both of our parents died in a car crash, leaving both of us orphans and there was no one to take care of us except _Baba._"

The brunette had a small smile on her face as the Brit continued to listen to her story.

"He was admitted in the hospital a few years prior than me, he was stuck in a wheelchair because the nerves on his legs were severely damaged.. or so he says. _Baba _says that maybe the reason why he can't walk is entirely psychological.. So I tried to help him.. I tried my best to cheer for him and after a few months of therapy, he can almost walk around the hospital."

Elizaveta chuckled to herself as the memories drowned her thoughts. "He was a nice man, very gentle, very kind. He often played the piano for me, ever since _Baba _gave him a piano on one of his birthdays."

"He must be a nice man, indeed.", the Brit commented, and continued, "Then why do you hate him so much?"

The brunette looked up at the ceiling as she spoke. "He was nice, yes, but he was such a pansy.", she laughed and Arthur chuckled along. "He wasn't very good at expressing his emotions, and ends up hurting other people in the process.. He isn't very strong either, you can say that I'm more manlier than him..", she laughed again. "But I loved him. I loved everything about him. Even though he was imperfect, he showed to me that life could be more colorful, more meaningful through music.."

Her eyes were about to brim with tears, but she tried to stop the tears from falling. "I loved him, but.. I guess my love for him wasn't enough to stop him from leaving."

A shocked look was on the Brit's face as he spoke. "He left you? What did you do? What did he do?", he asked, interest glimmering in his emerald eyes. The way Elizaveta had described the man to him, it seems that there is nothing wrong, but..

"..he was a very ambitious man. He really wanted to become a musician, and so, we thought of setting up our own band. I found it really interesting and fun, you know, but he took the band thing way too serious. He would often find and land us gigs, small concerts, performances. There are times that the others would already complain because of the packed schedule, and sometimes we can't focus at other stuff like our performance in school or bonding time with our families. He grew more dissatisfied, thinking that maybe, being in an indie band won't get him nowhere, that whatever he does for the band would end up in nothing.. And one day, he just snapped. He got into a fight with Vash, who was the guitarist in our band, and told him that he was already planning to quit the band, and go to a label company, where he says, "will appreciate his talent and skills". When I heard about it from Vash, I tried to contact him, but he wouldn't answer me. When I was on my way to his apartment.."

Silence. Her mouth suddenly stopped moving as she remembered that day..

* * *

_"Roderich!"_

_He didn't turn around. He just stood there, the door of the car half open, as the rain poured hard down the streets. Elizaveta was soaking wet, a few metres from the Austrian, as she tried to stop him from leaving._

_"Roderich? Y-You're not leaving us, right?", she asked, unsure whether the man had heard her or not. She saw his hand clench as he entered the car, without words, he just left her. "Roderich!", she cried, the car started moving and the brunette tried to run after it, while calling out for him._

_"Roderich.."_

_She stopped running. She knew she won't be able to run after it, she knew that he had already made his decision to leave._

_"Don't leave me.. I.."_

* * *

"..I never got to tell him I loved him. He just disappeared in my life just like that, didn't even said goodbye or where he would be going. He never called, he never visited.", she clenched her fists as she spoke, "..and soon I grew to hate him. I hate him for making me feel this way, I hate him for telling me that we would always be together, no matter what. I hate him for everything he had said and done for me, and just left me hanging like this. I hate him because he chose his music and dreams rather than the people who used to love him.. _Baba.. _Heracles.. Gupta.. Vash.. Mathias.. and the others.. We were so devastated when he left.. Life was never the same without him."

Silence. Awkward silence filled the air as the Brit coughed twice before he spoke.

"But.. you're a strong woman, right, Ms. Hedervary?", he asked, a smile on his face as she looked at the brunette.

He continued, "You won't let a mere pansy affect you, right? You don't need to cry for him, you don't even need him because he doesn't deserve a lady like you. You should stand with your chin up and show him that you can be happy, even without him. Smile and make him regret his decision to leave you."

The brunette looked back at him, determination in her eyes as she pumped her left fist in the air. "Yes! I will show him that I can be happy even without him! That life could still be happy even without that mere pansy—"

Arthur looked as if he was trying to stop himself from laughing. "Pfft.."

He burst into laughter, trying to wipe the tears forming in his eyes as he spoke, "You are a very interesting woman, Ms. Hedervary.", and as the brunette bobbed her head to one side as she looked at him with confusion, she couldn't stop herself from also laughing along with the Brit.

When the laughter ceased, the Brit looked at her, and saw that there were no longer tears in her eyes. "Do you feel better now?", he asked, a sincere smile on his face as his emerald eyes focused on her.

The brunette smiled, she knew that everything he said was right. "Yes. I feel as if a burden in my heart is lifted, thanks to you.", and she looked at him, a smile on her face that is no longer fake like she would always put up with others. "Thank you, Mr. Kirkland. Thank you."

Arthur looked back, and a weird feeling came over him. _Why is my heart beating so fast? Sh-She's just smiling, thanking me.. Why do I feel this way?_

"Don't look at me like that!", he scolded her, as he put a palm on his face to hide the blush on his cheeks. The room was a bit dark, and Elizaveta can't see it anyway. She chuckled and found it strangely cute, but she tried to hide that thought in her head.

She looked at him, her eyes filled with sincerity as she spoke. "I guess it is a bit unfair of me to judge you right away, Mr. Kirkland. Knowing that you're an idol, and that you are from a label company, made me thought that idols are all the same.. Sacrificing everything just for money and fame.. But I guess..", she smiled again at the Brit as she continued, "..you are quite different from the rest."

_Sh-She's looking at me like that again! Stop smiling at me like that, you idiot.._

"Uh-Uhmm..", he looked away, his face getting redder as he tried to hide his face from her. "Well.. You're different than what I have first perceived you.. I suppose."

He heard a big yawn beside him, and when he looked at her, it seems as if Elizaveta was already asleep. He smiled.

_She looks more like an angel when she's asleep like this.._

A yawn also escaped from his lips as his eyes slowly drooped, and sleep beginning to overwhelm him.


	9. Chapter 9

**_A/N: _**_Italicized sentences without quotations – Thoughts of one character_

* * *

The sunlight streaming from the windows of the room shone on the Brit's face.

He was still half-asleep, hugging onto something he thought was a pillow.

He was about to go back to sleep when he noticed that the pillow is moving!

"..huh?"

His emerald eyes flickered open to see the brunette peacefully sleeping in his arms.

_M-Ms. Hedervary?_

The brunette snuggled closer to him, her lips faintly touching the skin on his neck. A shiver ran down his spine as he tried to control his breathing. He didn't know why it felt so natural, it felt so perfect, that very moment. But then, the brunette moved away from him, rolling herself to her other side, back facing him. The Brit sighed.

_Ah. It was good while it lasted._

The brunette rested her head on his arm, and he tried to gently pull his arm away from her.

_Hey, Ms. Hedervary. Let go of my arm._

He tried to pull himself away, when he suddenly noticed Elizaveta was murmuring something in her sleep. He paused for a moment, listening to the brunette's murmurs, his face getting closer to hers as he tried to know what she was saying..

"..Roderich."

The brunette whispered that man's name, the man who had left her years ago.

_Maybe she's dreaming about him, thinking that maybe it was him sleeping beside her and not.._

He didn't want to finish that sentence that came to his mind. He looked at her, emerald eyes focused on her face. Slowly, without thinking, his face got closer and closer, inches before a sudden flicker of the same emerald eyes were on him.

"AH!"

The Brit found himself being pushed away from the bed, falling onto the floor, his face throbbing because of the facepalm the brunette just gave him.

"What are you doing here, sleeping on my bed?!"

The Brit looked at her, his face flustered.

"If you're thinking that I did something, or anything weird, then you are sadly mistaken!", he shouted back. He tried to compose himself as he stood, dusting imaginary dirt on his clothes while speaking in a teasing tone, "If anything weird really happened, then it's not my fault, because you're the one who was coming on to me earlier!" _Wait, that just sounded so wrong._

A pillow was thrown straight to his face as the brunette shouted at him. "Pervert!", and she kept on throwing random objects towards the poor Brit, who was about to escape out of the room. He suddenly bumped into someone with brown hair and olive green eyes, his face in a confused expression. "Who are you, and what are you doing here?", he asked, until a frying pan flew towards them, the man pushing the Brit away and yelling, "DUCK!"

The man evaded the attack, his green eyes filled with confusion as he scratched the back of his head. "Eliza is angry this early in the morning?", he muttered to himself as he opened the door of the brunette's room. "Eliza—oof!"

A pillow hit him, straight in the face. He looked at her with an indifferent expression as he picked the pillow up, walking towards the brunette who suddenly realized that she hit the wrong person. "Brother! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean.."

"Yeah, yeah, I know.", he scratched the back of his head as he put the pillow back on the bed. "So, it's quite unusual that you'd be this active this early in the morning.."

The brunette looked at him with wide eyes as she pointed towards the door. "Brother, didn't you see the pervert outside of my room? I found him sleeping in my room! In MY room!"

The man looked at her, eyes half-closed. "Is that so?", he asked, as he clenched his knuckles, making a crunching noise. He walked towards the doorway, and bobbed his head to one side as he saw the Brit slowly walking away in the hallways. "Hey, Britboy!"

He didn't stop walking, he knew that the man was angry, he can feel it. Sweat started to drop down his forehead as he felt the dark aura behind him, about to approach him, and he tried to run but then felt a sudden grip on the back of his collar. "Where are you going, you son-of-a-*****?"

Arthur felt insulted. He was about to retort, when the man suddenly gripped his collar tighter. "You. Answer me. What were you doing in my sister's room?"

He tried to be polite as he answered, thinking that maybe they can resolve this conflict through proper discussion. "I didn't do anything. Your sister saved me from the winter cold yesterday, and brought me here. You can ask your father, or the little kid who was here.. And I swear, I swear that I didn't do anything weird to her."

The grip on his collar loosened, and the man's voice became a bit calmer. "Are you sure?", he asked, still wary of the Brit standing in front of him. "Yes, absolutely, I didn't—"

"He called _abla _"honey" last night."

The little kid appeared out of nowhere, his hand pointed at the Brit while wearing an indifferent expression on his face. "He called her "honey" and even followed her into her room."

The dark aura returned again, as the grip on the Brit's collar tightened. "What? Is that true, Gupta?"

The kid nodded. Arthur had a maddened expression on his face, he just couldn't believe his bad luck.

"Yes, I know, I called her "honey" but back in England, I'm used to call anyone with those terms of endearment! And second, I followed her because I tried to cheer her up, okay? I—"

"So you mean, you are a womanizer?", the man cut him off and continued, "Calling everyone with your sick terms of endearment? And what do you mean by "cheering up"? Is being a pervert a part of this what you call "cheering up", because you know, I haven't heard about that part."

_Why does everyone keep on misunderstanding me..?_

The Brit struggled to escape, while trying to explain the situation again to him. "I didn't do anything, alright? I didn't do anything to her."

_This is getting really crazy._

* * *

"Oh. Is that so? Well, okay, I'm happy to accept him into my home. I'll take care of him, yes."

Sadiq ended the call, and was about to continue his cooking when he heard voices coming from the second floor. "Hmm? A ruckus this early in the morning?"

The little kid, Gupta, sat on one of the chairs in the dining room. "Oh, is Heracles harassing your sister again?", he asked the little boy, as he put the plates on the dining table. The kid looked at his own plate and spoke, "No.. But the Britboy did."

"You sure?", he asked again, sitting on the chair next to the little kid. Before taking a bite the kid answered, "I don't know.. He doesn't look like that sort of person."

Sadiq chuckled as he reached for a piece of bread. "I better go upstairs and check on th—"

"I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING, WHY WON'T YOU LISTEN?!"

The Brit's loud voice reached the dining room, and Sadiq walked over to check on the two. "What is happening here? Being noisy this—"

"_Baba! _This Britboy slept in Eliza's room!", Heracles, standing there with Elizaveta behind him, pointing his hand towards the Brit as he made his accusation. "I saw him, and Eliza even called him a pervert, so it must be true!"

Sadiq turned to look at the Brit, his eyes serious as he asked, "Is that true… Arthur, right?"

Arthur looked back at him, his eyes half-pleading. "Yes, my name is Arthur, sir. And no, I didn't do anything weird on your daughter, I swear to God that I was raised as a gentleman by my parents so I wouldn't ever dare to touch a girl who is vulnerable.."

Sadiq looked into his eyes, trying to see if the Brit is telling the truth. "If my judgment is correct.. I see that you are telling the truth, Arthur."

Heracles was about to retort when Sadiq suddenly turned to look at him. "Let me ask you, son, since when did my judgment ever been wrong?", he asked, his voice serious. The Greek man held his words back, he knew that his father's judgment had never been wrong. Elizaveta remained silent, as a feeling of embarrassment came over her. If it's true that Arthur is telling the truth, then she might have misjudged the Brit again. She tried to look at Arthur from her brother's shoulder, and the Brit looked back at her, and instantly looked away when he saw her staring.

_I think he's mad at me. I apologized to him last night because I had misjudged him, and I have misjudged him again.._

Sadiq noticed the awkward atmosphere filling the room, and tried to call the three for breakfast. "Oh, and yeah, I have an announcement to make."

The three stopped on their tracks as the Turk turned to look at them and gave the Brit a warm smile. "From now on, Arthur will be living here with us."

Silence. Sadiq chuckled as he walked towards the dining room.


	10. Chapter 10

"WHAT?!"

The three looked at him, the same shocked expression on their faces. The Turk's eyes were filled with confusion as he looked at them, for him, there was no reason to be shocked. He had no wife and had no biological children, living in a large house all by himself. The only ones who are living in his house are Heracles, Gupta, and Elizaveta: the children he adopted while he was working in the hospital. The two weren't shocked when he brought Gupta home and adopted him, but he doesn't understand why the two would be shocked that Arthur would be staying with them.

"Why? I think that Britboy is rich enough to even have his own house! Why do you have to let him stay here?!", the Greek man complained, as he glared at Arthur.

The Brit didn't want to argue with him. First, he thought that arguing with him would be pointless. Second, he was thankful enough that the Turk had let him stay in his house, and he didn't want to cause problems any further. And third..

_If I tell them that the CEO had cut all my bank accounts and even closed down my condo, then, that would really be humiliating for me._

Instead the Brit glared back, two emerald eyes clashing. Sadiq sighed before he spoke, "Heracles. Didn't I tell you before that glaring at people are considered bad manners?"

Heracles snapped. "Why am I the only one being scolded? He's glaring at me too, can't you see that?"

The Turk was about to retort when Heracles suddenly grabbed Elizaveta by the wrist as he pulled her away. "I won't let that Britboy steal Elizaveta away from me. Never!"

Elizaveta had an apologetic smile as she let herself be pulled away by the Greek. Sadiq sighed again, as he remembers the last time Heracles acted like that. He turned to the Brit who had a confused expression on his face, and patted him on the head. "Sorry about that. Heracles has this kind of sister complex ever since he met Elizaveta. It's weird though that he feels threatened that you might steal her away from him, 'cause he never acted that way towards Mathias and Elizaveta's other friends.."

The Brit glanced up to Sadiq, his eyes still in a confused expression. "Is that so? I think he just simply hates me though.."

Sadiq smiled as the memories started to drown his thoughts. "The only one he had always fought with was only Roderich. They always fought over Elizaveta back then, even when they were in the hospital.", he chuckled. "Ah. If only I can go back to those days when our family was complete.."

The sad expression on the Turk's face quickly changed as he smiled at the Brit. "Anyway, you are now a part of the family, Arthur!", and he pulled him into a friendly hug.

Arthur felt a bit awkward hugging a person he didn't really know that much, but a feeling of warmth overwhelmed him. He doesn't remember the last time his parents had ever hugged him, and thinking about that made his eyes teary for a bit. The Turk patted Arthur's back as he spoke, "Welcome to the family, my son."

He didn't know why he hugged him back, but he still did, anyway.

* * *

"_Abi._"

Gupta stood at the doorway, looking at the Greek who was sitting in front of his computer. Hours have passed after the fight he had with his father and the Brit, but he still felt irritated knowing that Arthur would be staying in the same house as him. "What?", he asked, eyes still glued on the computer screen. The little kid approached him, and pulled on his sleeve as he spoke. "But, but.. You were supposed to accompany me to the park today, right? You said we're going to play outside today."

Heracles gave him a heavy sigh, but his eyes were still on the computer screen. "I'm busy today. Ask Eliza or Dad."

The little kid's brown eyes were almost teary as he spoke. "But, but.. Eliza has band practice, Dad went shopping.."

Heracles stayed silent as he continued to type on his computer. The little kid frowned as he slowly walked away from his room, trying to stop his tears from falling. He walked past the Brit, who then noticed the sad expression on his face and tried to call the kid's attention. "Hey.. Gupta, right?"

The kid turned to him, as he wore the same indifferent expression he had always used on the Brit. "What?"

"You look seemingly down today.."

"I don't know what you are talking about, Mr. Eyebrows."

The Brit cringed at the sudden new nickname. "Aha. Well, anyway..", he scratched the back of his neck. "I guess I have to go then."

He was about to turn around when the little kid suddenly called him. "Hey, Mr. Eyebrows."

Arthur raised an eyebrow as he looked back at the little kid. "Yes?"

The little kid looked away, seemingly embarrassed.

"Come with me, please?"

* * *

"So.. you are saying that the 'weird stalker guy' is now living with you in your house?"

Mathias took a sip from his orange soda while Elizaveta sighed. She didn't understand why her father would come up with that decision, or the way Heracles treated Arthur. The only person Heracles had ever been like that with was "that guy". Well, they mistakenly accused Arthur of being a pervert (or so it seems) but it doesn't justify the fact that Heracles was acting a bit different. He was always calm, even in those times he would harass her (not sexually). Feliciano would always hug her, Mathias would often put an arm around her shoulder, and there are times that the sweet Tino would give her a kiss on the cheek before she goes home, but his Greek brother doesn't seem to mind that at all. She wondered why would Heracles dislike Arthur, and why he acted that way. Is there something in Arthur that reminds Heracles of a certain someone? She doesn't really know.

"Yes.. And Heracles seem to be irked by his presence.", she answered, as she took a glass of iced tea from the tray the Italian was holding. "Ve~ It's been such a long time that Heracles had been like that..", Feliciano mused, as he sat on the chair beside the brunette's.

"Yeah, I know.. It surprised me too.", the Dane mumbled to himself. The three were lost in their thoughts when all of a sudden, they heard a familiar noise coming from the garage.

"I said it was supposed to be a G#, not an F!"

"What the?! F?! It doesn't even sound good with that note, change it!"

Ah. The usual verbal fights between the Norwegian and the Swiss.

Elizaveta sighed again. "Better start band practice before they get into another fist-fight, Mathias."

* * *

"What a peaceful day this is."

The Brit sat comfortably on a park bench as he watched the children playing in the public park. Gupta was smiling, laughing even, which surprised the Brit since he had never seen that little kid smile before. The sound of children's laughter, the soft gust of the wind, a clear, blue sky with little to no clouds.. It was all nice. He doesn't seem to remember the last time he relaxed like that, or even got to go out freely because of the fangirls (who, miraculously doesn't stalk him even now) but then, it all feels very nice. If living a normal life means having days like this, he thought, maybe he would rather prefer this kind of lifestyle than living a life of being an "idol".

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted when he heard a cry from the playground.

"Heh.", a fat, (dare I say) ugly kid was trying to bully the other children who were playing on the playground. "Hey, doofus.", the bully snarled as he grabbed the collar of the poor little boy's shirt. Gupta saw this and tried to defend the little boy.

"Hey. Let go of him.", he tried to help, but then the bully looked at him with an irritated expression. "Don't tell me what to do, you piece of s***!"

The poor little boy was thrown like a rag on the ground, as the bully tried to hit Gupta on the face. Arthur was about to intervene, clearly, this little bully wasn't really taught any manners at all. But then, the way Gupta handled the fight, it was clear that he doesn't need any help from him. He was all on defense, and when the bully got tired of trying to hit his target, he stopped for a short breath of air. "You.."

Arthur grabbed the back of the bully's collar, and looked down on him with a cold and icy glare. "Well, hello there, Mr. Bully. I see you're fighting with my little brother today."

The bully looked at him with wide eyes, then glanced back at the little kid who was smirking at him. "Ah, n-no, mister. I really wasn't.."

The Brit let go of him as the bully ran away, terrified of the look Arthur just casted on him. "Well, then..", he turned to look at Gupta, who was extending a hand for the bullied boy. His eyes were suddenly filled with nostalgia as he looked at the two, it seems as if he was in this situation before. "Brother..", he muttered to himself, as he remembered the smile his older brother used to give him when he would protect Arthur from the terrible scolding he always got from his parents. His mouth turned into a bitter smile as he patted the head of the little Egyptian. "I'm proud of you, Gupta, being able to stand up to other people like that. You really handled the situation quite well."

Gupta gave him a quick glance, feeling slightly embarrassed. "I wasn't.. Well.. I wasn't really thinking of anything at that moment.. If I got hit or anything.. I am scared that _Baba _or _abla _would scold me or something.. But—"

He was interrupted when the Brit suddenly ruffled his brown hair as he smiled at him. "If ever you got hit, I would still be proud of you. People don't usually stand up for other people just like that, knowing that you were going to get hit at anytime.. It was still commendable."

Gupta tried to hide his tears again, he was obviously touched by the Brit's comment. "You.. If ever you wanted to marry my sister, I guess you'd do just fine.."

A blush suddenly crept on the Brit's cheeks as he heard him. "W-What are you saying? I'm not going to marry her, we're not even in a relationship—"

"—unfortunately.", Gupta smirked as the Brit's face turned into a deep shade of red. The little kid gave him a laugh for the very first time, as he turned around, and decided to go home since the sun was about to set. "Let's go home, Mr. Eyebrows.", and took his hand, pulling the Brit away from the playground, him running as Arthur tried to catch up with his pace. The Brit smiled at this, and Gupta too, before the little kid mumbled to himself,

"You are very different from _him_, and I guess _abi _Heracles failed to see that."

The two went home together, hand-in-hand, happy with the start of a new friendship.


	11. Chapter 11

"Oh, there you are Elizaveta."

Sadiq glanced at his daughter, while holding a tray of scones. Elizaveta just got home from band practice, and the sun was already setting when she arrived. "Can you help me with this? I'm preparing a welcoming party for Arthur."

The brunette held the tray with her hands, a confused expression on her face as she asked, "Uh, seriously, Dad.. Scones? You prepared scones for a welcoming party?"

The Turk can't help but chuckle, as he placed the porcelain plates on the dining table. "Yes, are there any problems with that?", he asked as he wiped the sweat off his forehead. The brunette gave him an uneasy smile as she spoke. "Nothing.. It's just that you prepared something different.. I mean, something you don't usually cook.."

Sadiq chuckled at her response. "I heard that Arthur is from England, correct? Since this is a welcoming party, I just want him to feel right at home here at our house.. Remember the Hungarian sausages I prepared for your welcoming party?"

The brunette smiled as she took a seat. "Yes.. I remember it quite well.", and sadness filled her emerald eyes as the memories occupied her thoughts.

Sadiq bobbed his head when he heard the sound of footsteps from the hallway, and saw that Heracles was about to head towards the front door. He called out to him. "Heracles!"

The Greek glanced at his father, his eyes half-closed, and was obviously irritated when he caught sight of the food on the dining table. "I'm going out, so I won't be able to eat dinner with you and _your friend._", and before the Turk could even speak, he was silenced by his son's slamming of the front door. Sadiq sighed.

"I thought Heracles' rebellious phase is already over.. What is happening with him, seriously.."

The brunette gave him a nervous chuckle as Sadiq took a seat. "I am also confused as to why _abi _would act that way..", and as she looked around, she noticed that something or someone is missing. "_Baba, _where's Gupta?"

Sadiq stared at her blankly as he realized that he hadn't seen Gupta ever since he got home from shopping earlier. "You mean.. Gupta isn't in his room?"

The two were about to stand and find Gupta when all of a sudden, they heard the front door clicked open. "We're home!", the little kid exclaimed, as he walked towards the dining room, one hand still holding the Brit's. Arthur had a smile on his face as he walked into the room, and bobbed his head to one side when he saw the food on the table.

"Is there a special celebration going on?", he asked, as Sadiq and Elizaveta stared at the two who were holding hands. Sadiq smiled as he commented, "I see you two are quite close now.", and continued, "Where did you two go? I was almost worried earlier.."

Gupta looked at his father with his brown chocolate eyes as he spoke. "_Enişte _accompanied me to the park today.", he answered nonchalantly, and the two cringed at the term the little kid just used to refer to the Brit. "_Eniste?_", the Turk repeated, and laughed as a blush crept on Elizaveta's cheeks. She turned to look at the little kid, one hand on his shoulder as she spoke. "He's not your _eniste, _okay, Gupta? So stop calling him that."

The little kid frowned. Arthur had a confused expression on his face since he didn't understood what the word just meant. Then, all of a sudden, Gupta pulled the Brit's hand and clasped it together with Elizaveta's. "But.. he said to me earlier that he was going to marry you, _abla._", he spoke, as he looked at the brunette, chocolate brown eyes on her.

Two pairs of emerald eyes stared as their faces turned into a brighter shade of red. "M-Marry you?!", the two exclaimed, as they quickly pulled their hands away from each other. Elizaveta stared at him with bewildered eyes, and the Brit kept on stuttering as he tried to explain. "No, I d-didn't tell him that! It's just a complete misunderstanding..", and the brunette stood up, still staring, as she walked towards another seat, farther away from the Brit. Arthur sighed. "You look silly, Ms. Hedervary.", he commented, as he took the seat near him. Sadiq chuckled and the little kid can't help but chuckle too, it had been a long time since the house had been so lively like this, they thought. "Okay, okay!", the Turk exclaimed as he clapped his hands to get their attention. He looked at Arthur and grinned, "Welcome to the family, Arthur! This is a welcoming party just for you."

The Brit smiled. An overwhelming feeling came over him as he tried to not choke on his words. "Thank you..", and he grabbed a scone, eating it a bit too quickly as he tried to stop his eyes from tearing up.

They started to eat the food, and the room was filled with awkward silence. They kept on waiting for someone to start the conversation, to keep the celebration going.

Curiosity then filled the Brit's eyes as he suddenly called the Turk's attention. "Umm. Mr. Annan?"

Sadiq glanced at him, while holding a half-eaten scone in one hand. "Yes, Arthur?", and he took another bite from the pastry as he continued, "And please, do skip the formalities, and just call me _baba, _okay?"

"Umm. Okay..", the Brit nodded, as he tried to pronounce correctly the new word he just learned. "_B.. Baba?_"

It sounded weird and unnatural, he thought.

From the corner of his eyes, he can see the brunette trying to suppress a laugh. Beside the brunette sat the little kid, Gupta, who was busy with his own food and wasn't really listening to the conversation. Arthur coughed twice before he spoke. "As I was saying.. Umm..", he glanced at the Turk, a bit embarrassed as he continued, "..it's not as if I'm not grateful or anything that you let me stay here.. Really, I feel very grateful.. But.. Umm.."

Sadiq glanced at him, already knowing what the Brit was going to say. "I thought you didn't have a place to stay?", he asked, while holding a teacup on one hand. _Did he just read my mind?_, Arthur thought as he tried to ask another question to the Turk.

"How.. How come you knew I didn't have a place to stay..?"

The Turk looked at him, a bit surprised. "Huh? I thought Gerhart told you about my place? He didn't tell you? He just called me earlier, telling me to take care of you."

"G-Gerhart? You mean, you're friends with that wanker?", he asked, quickly placing a hand over his own mouth as he realized that he just said a profane word. Arthur was used to cursing and profanity, really, but then he thought that cursing while eating, and especially while staying in a place that is not his own are considered ill manners. He tried to rephrase his question, "So.. You mean, you're friends with that CEO?"

The Turk answered, completely ignoring the curse part, "Ah, yes. We're friends, colleagues."

Arthur continued to nibble on his scone, an evil aura surrounding him as he cursed the CEO in his thoughts.

_After forcing me to go to that damn school, giving me limited funds to live on, closing my condo, and now.. He didn't even tell me about his friend's house! Damn him. Damn that CEO.._

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted when Elizaveta spoke. "I was just thinking, how come that you are going back to school? And a low profile school at that. Why not choose a better school? And also, why don't you have a place to stay? With your job, I'm sure you can find some place better.."

Arthur felt as if a piece of scone was stuck in his throat. _Why does this woman have a lot of questions?_

He glanced at the brunette who was waiting for her answer.

_Should I tell her? Should I tell them-Oh, bloody hell, don't look at me like that!_

Arthur bit his lower lip, as he hesitated to answer her question. Elizaveta tapped her fingers on the table, getting impatient as she waited for his answer. "Ah, whatever. I guess you don't want to tell us..", and she grabbed another scone, and nibbled on it.

The Brit heaved a sigh of relief.

_At least she didn't nag me about it, and that's good.._

* * *

A few hours after the welcoming party, Sadiq had already shown Arthur his own room, and the stuff that he gets to use while he is staying there. Arthur laid himself down on the bed, his face on the soft pillow, as he tried to distract himself with his own thoughts. He stretched his arms out wide, a feeling of incompleteness creeping on him. _What is missing?, _he thought as he clenched and unclenched his own hands, his mind suddenly remembering that feeling, even though faint, when the brunette was in his arms, her hair the scent of those of apples and cinnamon, and the touch of her milky white skin on his neck. He missed it, he thought, but then shook his head in denial as he started to realize what he was just thinking.

_Me and my silly thoughts.._

He kept his mind busy until sleep overwhelmed his senses.

* * *

The sound of footsteps from the front door made the Turk turn his head. Apparently, he was drinking a cup of coffee while doing some work on the dining table, when his son just arrived. "So, did you have fun while you were out?", he asked, as he turned his attention back to his own work. The Greek stopped on his tracks, his hand on the railing of the stairs as he looked back to his own father. "Yeah, I guess. Just went over the Nordics' house, ate pasta.."

"Well, that's good."

Silence. Heracles just stood there, staring at the Turk who was busy on his work. "Aren't you going back to your own room?", Sadiq asked, as he sipped on a cup of coffee, his eyes on his paperwork.

"Aren't you angry? Don't you feel like hitting me on the head or anything?", the Greek asked as he walked towards the dining table, grabbing a seat next to the Turk. Sadiq glanced at him, then back to his papers. "No, I'm not angry. I am quite used to that sort of behavior of yours."

Silence. Heracles looked away, now staring at the moon from the dining room windows. "Yes, you are quite used to this behavior of mine.,", and he chuckled as he continued, "It's been years, huh?"

The Turk glanced again at him, curiosity in his eyes as he asked, "Now I wonder why you seem to dislike Arthur..", and placed the cup of coffee back on the table. His son's eyebrows furrowed as he answered, "I don't know. It just.. happened. Whenever I see his face, I feel irritated.. Like I want to punch him in the face."

"But that is what you told me when you first met Roderich."

Heracles glanced back at his father, a slight shock on his features. "Is.. Is that so? Well..", he turned to look at the moon again, his eyes reflecting the moon's faint glow. "As much as I love my sister, I'd rather let Roderich have her than that Britboy—"

Sadiq yawned, pretending not to hear what his son just said. "Okay, I guess it's time to go to bed. It's already 12 AM, and you still have class tomorrow, and I have more work tomorrow.. You can go ahead, while I first clean up this mess."

Heracles smiled a bit. _At least I'm off the hook, _he thought as he climbed up the stairs, feeling sleepy himself.

* * *

**_A/N: _**_Yeah, I know. This chapter is a bit lame, many grammatical errors,a bit rushed and yeah. I'm kinda busy with orchestra and dance practice, and I'm running out of inspiration.. Ahaha. So yeah._

_Eniste – Turkish word for "brother in law"_

_Baba – Turkish word for "father"_


	12. Chapter 12

Morning.

The Brit's eyes slowly opened, as the light coming from the sun outside shone on his face.

_It's morning already?_

He glanced at the clock on the wall. Standing up, his head felt a bit heavy as he walked towards the mirror.

_It's been two days, huh._

He combed his hair back, and tying it into a small ponytail pertruding on his head. As he grabbed a towel and walked towards the bathroom, he can smell the scent of eggs and bacon from the kitchen.

_Ah, I'm hungry. I can't wait to eat bre—_

He twisted the doorknob, and noticed that it was locked.

_Huh?_

He twisted it again, with a bit of force this time, but no luck. He knocked on the door a few times, before he heard the sound of water from the inside. The Brit waited, and minutes passed until he tried to knock on the door again. "Umm. Can you please hurry up? I'm about to be late if—"

The door suddenly opened, and the Brit was shocked to see Heracles standing there, his eyes half-open, but looking at him with a menacing glare. He was wearing a bathrobe, holding an electric razor in one hand and his face half-shaven. "What?", he asked, irritation in his voice as he turned to the mirror to finish with his shaving. _What is with that kind of look?, _Arthur thought, as he remained there, still standing at the doorway. He coughed first before he spoke, "It seems as if you have a certain hatred or dislike of some sort against me.."

The Greek man didn't answer, as he continued with his shaving. It got a bit awkward for the Brit, since he was just trying to be friendly with the man in front of him. "Well.. We'll be living in the same house from now on, and I think we should get along.. Umm.."

_It's so embarrassing, why do I have to be all nice with this twat.._

"Umm.. Heracles, right?"

The Brit stood frozen when all of a sudden, Heracles attacked him with his electric razor. "Don't you dare call me by my name, you—"

Heracles stared blankly at him. He blinked as he looked at the Brit, his face in a confused expression. Turning off the razor, he then asked, "Uh.. Who are you?"

The Brit blinked at his question, a bit disoriented from what just happened. "Eh.. What?", he asked, as Heracles continued to shave. "You, whoever you are, should be at your home preparing for school." the Greek spoke nonchalantly, and after a few seconds, he turned the razor off and placed it back in a box. Arthur was more confused at his sudden attitude-change than being angry for getting almost attacked by an electric razor. "What do you mean—"

He noticed his own reflection in the mirror, horrified eyes as he screamed in utter shock.

"MY EYEBROWS!"

* * *

Elizaveta was about to leave her room, when she suddenly heard a scream from the bathroom. Rushing towards the bathroom to check if something happened, she found the Brit standing there, his horrified face frozen as he stared at his reflection in the mirror.

"My.. My eyebrows.. You shaved my eyebrows!", and he turned to the Greek man, who was looking at him with a confused expression. "Hey, I don't know who you are, but you should be getting home.", Heracles spoke nonchalantly.

Arthur noticed Elizaveta's presence, fuming in anger as he spoke, "Look at what your brother did to me! My thick eyebrows are gone that I can't even recognize myself at the mirror!"

Elizaveta glanced at the Brit's thinner eyebrows, confusion on her face. "Uh.. At least you still have your eyebrows..", and scratched the back of her neck as she continued. "..whoever you are."

"It's me! Arthur!", the Brit exclaimed as he slapped a palm on his forehead. _What the bloody hell.._

The brunette squinted her eyes as she looked at him. "M-Mr. Kirkland? You.. You look different. Way different."

_My morning is ruined. My day is ruined._

* * *

**_A/N: _**_I'm having a terrible writer's block right now.. I am just hoping that it will pass soon so I can write another chapter._


	13. Chapter 13

The stares he was used to having were no longer there today.

He looked around him, his green eyes darting everywhere as he searched for someone, anyone, who might be looking or staring at him.

"What is happening? Everything seems odd..", he muttered as he pulled the chair from behind the desk he was assigned to. Just this morning, a series of unfortunate events happened, and his mind still can't accept the fact that his cherished and valuable eyebrows were shaven by a violent Greek who he just wanted to be friends with. He touched where his eyebrows should be, well, he still had his eyebrows, really, but it was thinner now, a straight line sitting upon his forehead. He sighed, it was valuable, to him at least. His eyebrows represented his heritage, his blood as a Brit, a symbol of who he is, a symbol he never once attempted to erase from his existence. And there he is now, thinking to himself as he saw himself earlier from the mirror, _This isn't me. I don't look like myself. Who is this I am seeing.._

His thoughts were interrupted when the teacher suddenly spoke. "Class attendance, answer if you are present."

The teacher recited the names written on the paper he was holding, students responding in different tones and voices. The Brit sighed again, as he put his elbows on the desk, his mind busy, not realizing that the teacher had already called out his name.

"Kirkland? Arthur Kirkland?"

The students in the class bobbed their head towards the desk of the unknowing Brit, their faces in an expression trying to recognize the stranger they were looking at. Whispers surrounded the room, as the teacher tried to speak above the hushed voices of the class. "Is Mr. Kirkland absent today?", he asked, his voice directing towards the Hungarian who was just sitting right next to the Brit. Her eyes were on the blue, crystalline sky hovering over the school grounds, and her attention was called when the teacher spoke out again. "Miss Hedervary, I believe you are daydreaming again."

Some tried to stop their laughter, and some didn't, making it quite audible for the brunette to reach her ears. She looked over at the teacher standing near the chalkboard, and the Brit who was busy sighing to himself beside her. "He's here, sir.", she pointed towards the Brit, catching his attention as he looked back at the brunette.

"Huh? What?", he asked, and then he glanced at the teacher, who had a confused expression on his face. "That is not Mr. Kirkland, Miss Hedervary.", the teacher uttered in disbelief, whispers around them getting louder as the class looked at them. He had the same blond hair, the same emerald green eyes, the same facial structure, his classmates thought.

_But where are the eyebrows?_

The Brit was about to retort, when a thought suddenly struck him..

_If living a normal life means having days like this, maybe I would rather prefer this kind of lifestyle than living a life of being an "idol"._

He remembered the thoughts he had just a day ago, the idea of living a normal life without scrutiny from other people. This brought a smile to his lips, more of a smirk, thinking that he wouldn't let this good opportunity pass and also thinking that it "might" be fun to pull a prank towards the unknowing souls in the room. He coughed twice before he spoke.

"My cousin, Arthur, won't be around today, and as I have heard, the CEO had sent him to study in another school, back in his home country."

The class was full of sighs, especially the fangirls who looked devastated by the sad news of the Brit. The brunette looked at him, wide eyed, as she doesn't seem to understand the reason behind his deceitful words.

"Seeing that it would be a waste of opportunity to study in a foreign country, I took it upon myself to replace him, and also to experience a new environment, if you will.", the Brit uttered nonchalantly, a smirk on his features as he looked at the teacher, obviously gullible to the Brit's made up story. "Well, it seems obvious that that boy wanted more from this place..", the teacher pushed back his glasses, putting back the papers he was holding on the table beside him. "I knew that he would be moving as soon as he got the chance..", he turned his back on them, grabbing a piece of white chalk as an indication that the classes were about to start. He looked back at the Brit before writing on the chalkboard, his eyes curious, as he asked, "Then, might as well introduce yourself then?"

The Brit stood up, his stance formal as the students glanced at the "seemingly" new student.

"Allistair Kirkland. My name is Allistair Kirkland."

The Brit gave them a curt bow, hiding a smirk as he thought to himself..

_Maybe this isn't as bad as I thought._


End file.
